What to do if your 6-month-old baby is anemic

We all know that when a baby is six months old, it has been in this world for half a year, and a six-month-old baby has already started eating complementary foods, so many mothers will add some nutritious food to the complementary foods to supplement the energy needed for the baby's physical development. However, some babies may suffer from anemia due to physical reasons. So what should we do if a six-month-old baby is anemic?

1. Insufficient congenital iron storage

Premature babies and low birth weight babies have less iron reserves from their mothers; the mothers may have suffered from iron deficiency anemia during or before pregnancy, resulting in the baby's iron reserves being insufficient to meet the needs of physical development. More than 75% of the total iron in the neonatal body is in hemoglobin, and the iron content of the hemoglobin of a newborn baby depends on whether the mother's body iron storage is sufficient during pregnancy. If the hemoglobin content is low, it will cause congenital iron deficiency in the baby.

Children grow rapidly and their blood volume increases quickly. A normal infant's weight doubles by 5 months old and doubles by 1 year old. Premature infants increase their weight even faster, increasing it sixfold by 1 year old. They need more iron to promote the synthesis of hemoglobin, so iron deficiency anemia is bound to occur if sufficient iron is not supplied in time.

Why does iron deficiency anemia affect the baby's intellectual development?

Iron plays a role in promoting brain development in the blood. If your baby is anemic, his body will naturally lack iron. Long-term iron deficiency will cause abnormal development of the baby's nervous system and insufficient oxygen supply to the brain, which will affect the baby's cognitive ability and behavioral development, causing the baby to have poor concentration, irritability, slow reaction, and slow movement. If the baby's iron deficiency anemia is not improved in time, it will cause irreversible damage to the baby's intellectual development.

Heme Iron – Natural Iron Supplement

Heme iron, also known as heme iron chloride, is a purely natural iron supplement that is generally separated and purified from animal blood. It has the advantages of high bioavailability and no adverse reactions such as gastrointestinal irritation. Expert experiments have confirmed that the absorption rate of heme iron in the small intestine is as high as 25% to 30% (non-heme iron is about 3% to 8%), without any side effects, and is not affected by diet or other factors. It is an ideal iron supplement. It is gentler and easier to absorb, suitable for the baby's delicate intestines, and beneficial for the baby's absorption and utilization. It is available on the market, but is usually added to food as a tonic.

Vitamin C – Promotes iron absorption

Vitamin C has an antioxidant function. Taking vitamin C while supplementing iron can protect the divalent iron in the medicine from being oxidized to trivalent iron, increase the absorption and utilization of the medicine, and make the iron supplementation more effective.

Therefore, if you want to supplement your baby with iron, it is best to supplement heme iron and vitamin C at the same time in a timely manner. You can squeeze fruits rich in vitamin C into juice and drink it together with heme iron powder to supplement iron, thereby increasing the amount of hemoglobin and improving iron deficiency anemia.